'Live at the Cabaret Volume 7: Sounds of A&R' Set for bergenPAC, 5/25
By: Tyler Peterson May. 06, 2016
S.O.A.R. is the brainchild of vocalist April May & Trumpeter Randall Haywood. Partners in music and life, April and Randall have come together on "Horizon" for a distinct sound that fuses aspects of Contemporary Jazz, Soul, R&B, and Gospel influences.
April May, the brother of Contemporary Jazz keyboardist Jacob Webb of The JT Project, hails from Newton, Kansas. Her unique vocal approach draws from a wide range of influences from Sarah Vaughan to Ledisi. She sings with a rustic warm tone and strong articulation. April's partner in crime, Randall Haywood, a Juilliard graduate, utilizes the trumpet with great emotional expression. His sound continues to look towards the future, while continuously paying homage to the greats that have come before him such as Herb Albert, Miles Davis, Chris Botti, and Chuck Mangione. S.O.A.R. has been described as the modern day Ashford and Simpson, pulling inspiration from the deep love they have for one and other and expressing that love through beautifully crafted compositions.
Born of America's rural heartland, from the wind-swept, wheat fields of Newton, Kansas, the twenty-five-year-old singer, songwriter, and composer has been singing since the age of five. April May worked as a pianist, minister of music, and educator in the Kansas City metropolitan area until the year 2010. She moved to the east coast to fulfill her dreams as a performer. Upon arriving to the east coast, April May studied jazz voice at William Paterson University, where she received a full Talent Trustee Scholarship and the honor of being chosen by the late great jazz Pianist Mulgrew Miller to study directly under his leadership in his small ensemble.
During her first few years in the New York area April May recorded two solo albums and has been relentlessly performing in her own group Sounds of A&R, a collaborative jazz duo consisting of herself and jazz trumpeter Randall Haywood whose recent single "Horizon" received much attention and peaked at #17 on The Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts in 2015. No, April is not in Kansas anymore! April May has also been performing and collaborating with other artists such as Jazz drummer Winard Harper, Kool & The Gang's original trombonist the late Clifford Adams, Billboard's Contemporary top five group The IT Project and others alike.
A recent graduate from the Juilliard School, there seems to be no limit for this multi-talented musician who plays trumpet, drums and piano. The Florida native's father played piano with Al Green, the Bar-Kays, and Benny Latimore. His uncle played sax with Elvin Jones, Jimmy Hendrix, and Betty Wright and his grandfather recorded with Sam Cooke.
Randall's performance experience includes performing with hip-hop artist/ actor Ludacris and R&B singer T-Pain, appearing on several late night television shows such as: Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Randall was a featured trumpet soloist on the PBS special, 'Marsalis on Music'. He recorded and toured with renowned, jazz pianist Marcus Roberts. In 1995, Randall became the youngest person to ever perform with the prestigious Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Randall's associations with Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts have enabled him to share the stage with musical giants such as: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the incomparable violinist Itzhak Perlman, the late great Grover Washington Jr. and, legendary conductor Seiji Ozawa.
While maintaining a flourishing performance career, Randall continues his educational career as well. As a music educator, he has had the opportunity to teach a diverse group of students of various age ranges and social economic backgrounds within his community as well as abroad. Throughout his entire professional career, Randall has had the privilege of traveling internationally conducting music workshops and performances in countries such as France, Columbia, Costa Rica and Japan teaching music notation (sight-reading), written and aural theory, music history, and jazz improvisation (bebop to avant-garde) as well as private and group lessons for brass wind, percussion, piano and voice.
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